Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt (Pidgin: Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa) is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the oil rich Niger Delta. As of 2023, Port Harcourt's urban population is estimated at 3,480,000. The population of the metropolitan area of Port Harcourt is almost twice its urban area population with a 2015 United Nations estimate of 2,344,000. In 1950, the population of Port Harcourt was 59,752. Port Harcourt has grown by 150,844 since 2015, which represents a 4.99% annual change.
Port Harcourt | |
|---|---|
Metropolis | |
Port Harcourt | |
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Seal | |
| Nickname(s): PH-City, P.H. and Garden City | |
Port Harcourt Map of Nigeria showing the location of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. Ralph Moore, Chief Oju Daniel Kalio and William Harcourt signed the 1913 agreement for the area now known as Port Harcourt. | |
| Coordinates: 4°49′27″N 7°2′1″E | |
| Country | Nigeria |
| State | Rivers |
| LGA(s) | Port Harcourt Obio-Akpor Okrika Eleme |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Incorporation | 1913 |
| Named for | Lewis Vernon Harcourt |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–Council |
| • Body | Port Harcourt City Council |
| • Mayor | Allwell Ihunda |
| Area | |
| • Metropolis | 369 km2 (142 sq mi) |
| • Land | 360 km2 (140 sq mi) |
| • Water | 9 km2 (3 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 158 km2 (61 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,900 km2 (700 sq mi) |
| Population (2006 census) | |
| • Metropolis | 1,005,904 |
| • Estimate (2019) | 1,148,665 |
| • Density | 2,700/km2 (7,100/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,865,000 |
| • Urban density | 12,000/km2 (31,000/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,344,000. |
| Demonym | Portians |
| GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values) | |
| • Year | 2023 |
| • Total | $34.4 billion |
| • Per capita | $9,900 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
| Postcode | 500 |
| Area code(s) | 084 |
| Climate | Am |
The area that became Port Harcourt in 1912 was before that of a farmland of people of Rebisi (Ikwerre). The colonial administration of Nigeria created the port to export coal from the collieries of Enugu located 243 kilometres (151 mi) north of Port Harcourt, to which it was linked by a railway called the Eastern Line, also built by the British.
Port Harcourt's economy turned to petroleum when the first shipment of Nigerian crude oil was exported through the city in 1958. Through the benefits of the Nigerian petroleum industry, Port Harcourt was further developed, with aspects of modernization such as overpasses, city blocks, and taller and more substantial buildings. Oil firms that currently have offices in the city include Shell and Chevron.
There are a number of public and private tertiary institutions in Port Harcourt. These institutions include Rivers State University, University of Port Harcourt, Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Ignatius Ajuru University, Rivers State College of Health Science and Technology, Madonna University, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, New Open University of Nigeria. The current mayor is Victor Ihunwo. Port Harcourt's primary airport is Port Harcourt International Airport, located on the outskirts of the city; the NAF base is the location of the only other airport and is used by commercial airlines Aero Contractors and Air Nigeria for domestic flights.